Network Coverage, who is best?
Wow, this is a tough topic, but one of the most crutial when purchasing a new cell phone, or deciding to switch service.
I want to start by saying that each persons needs for coverage area are different, and one plan that is perfect for someone else, may not be the right plan for you. A salesman who travels all over the country is going to have different needs than the person who wants to use their cell phone to make long distance calls from inside their house.
I happen to be lucky, and live in a condo that has AT&T Wireless, Cingular, T-Mobile, and Sprint PCS sites all within a 1/2 mile of my house (actually, all but Sprint are less than 1/4 mile from my place), giving me excellent coverage inside my condo. That works well for me, since I use my cell phone to make a majority of my long distance calls.
Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless both claim they have the best networks. Lets discuss.
Both networks were built by purchasing other carriers networks, and adding them to their own. You probably won't notice the difference, but your phone will. Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, and Nextel all basically have their own networks, and are continuing to build them. This is why they do not have the extensive coverage area the big two have (It is easier to buy a network that is already built, and reconfigure it to work with your network, than to build from scratch).
Verizon (in the New England area) used to be Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile, and had the most confusing pricing maps ever created. For New England, they had upwards of 5 separate billing areas, that charged different rates based on where you were. This was because some of these networks were owned by other carriers(you had to know if you were on A-side or B-side, etc.). Now, they have purchased these other carriers, and offer the Americas Plan, which charges the same no matter where you are. They have been around the longest (as the cellular arm of the ILEC, incumbent local exchange carrier, otherwise known as the local phone company), and therefore have the most extensive network. They also use CDMA, which is very resilient to adding more users. Most of the licenses they own are 800mhz, which also gives them more range than the higher frequency 1900mhz, used my the newer PCS companies.
I have also noticed that Verizon is the only provider to have diesel generator backup for every site they own. They are the only carrier I have seen to do this. Most others rely on battery backup, but that will only last 12-24 hours, maximum.
Cingular also has an extensive network, made better by the recent acquisition of AT&T Wireless. Cingular was previously Cellular One in New England, and was also one of the two original cellular carriers in this area (along with BAM). They run a majority of their sites at 800mhz (except for the former AT&T sites, which are 1900mhz), which also gives good range. They have the area very well covered, and still build sites to fill in dead spots, and expand the network.
Sprint has less towers, but has been very aggressive at building sites. I would hazard a guess and say that if you live in a populated area, you will have coverage. They have the most accurate system maps, and unless you are traveling often to more remote areas, you should have good coverage. Their system is exclusively CDMA and 1900mhz, so you will have roaming capabilities to Verizon if your phone supports the frequencies.
T-Mobile has also been very aggressive at building sites in New England, and in my opinion, has made huge strides in filling in dead spots and coverage holes. In my travels, I find T-Mobile sites everywhere I find the other carriers, and they (like Sprint PCS) will have many smaller sites to fill in network holes (such as flagpole and steeple mounted sites). Both Sprint and T-Mobile have been expanding there coverage in Central Mass, as well as on the Cape and other outlying regions.
Nextel is working hard to expand their coverage, especially since Sprint and Verizon have recently rolled out PTT service. Nextel has expanded their coverage to areas where business people can use their service, on and off duty. They have been aggressive on the Cape and Islands, in Maine and New Hampshire, as well as in the Western Part of Massachusetts.
Unfortunately, since they are the only user if the 'iden' network from Motorola, you cannot roam to any other carrier. You are basicly stuck on Nextel, without the ability to roam to anyone else. As they build the network out further, it will be less of an issue, but now it can be a limitation.
I will keep tabs on the effect of the AT&T / Cingular merger, and keep you up to date.
I want to start by saying that each persons needs for coverage area are different, and one plan that is perfect for someone else, may not be the right plan for you. A salesman who travels all over the country is going to have different needs than the person who wants to use their cell phone to make long distance calls from inside their house.
I happen to be lucky, and live in a condo that has AT&T Wireless, Cingular, T-Mobile, and Sprint PCS sites all within a 1/2 mile of my house (actually, all but Sprint are less than 1/4 mile from my place), giving me excellent coverage inside my condo. That works well for me, since I use my cell phone to make a majority of my long distance calls.
Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless both claim they have the best networks. Lets discuss.
Both networks were built by purchasing other carriers networks, and adding them to their own. You probably won't notice the difference, but your phone will. Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, and Nextel all basically have their own networks, and are continuing to build them. This is why they do not have the extensive coverage area the big two have (It is easier to buy a network that is already built, and reconfigure it to work with your network, than to build from scratch).
Verizon (in the New England area) used to be Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile, and had the most confusing pricing maps ever created. For New England, they had upwards of 5 separate billing areas, that charged different rates based on where you were. This was because some of these networks were owned by other carriers(you had to know if you were on A-side or B-side, etc.). Now, they have purchased these other carriers, and offer the Americas Plan, which charges the same no matter where you are. They have been around the longest (as the cellular arm of the ILEC, incumbent local exchange carrier, otherwise known as the local phone company), and therefore have the most extensive network. They also use CDMA, which is very resilient to adding more users. Most of the licenses they own are 800mhz, which also gives them more range than the higher frequency 1900mhz, used my the newer PCS companies.
I have also noticed that Verizon is the only provider to have diesel generator backup for every site they own. They are the only carrier I have seen to do this. Most others rely on battery backup, but that will only last 12-24 hours, maximum.
Cingular also has an extensive network, made better by the recent acquisition of AT&T Wireless. Cingular was previously Cellular One in New England, and was also one of the two original cellular carriers in this area (along with BAM). They run a majority of their sites at 800mhz (except for the former AT&T sites, which are 1900mhz), which also gives good range. They have the area very well covered, and still build sites to fill in dead spots, and expand the network.
Sprint has less towers, but has been very aggressive at building sites. I would hazard a guess and say that if you live in a populated area, you will have coverage. They have the most accurate system maps, and unless you are traveling often to more remote areas, you should have good coverage. Their system is exclusively CDMA and 1900mhz, so you will have roaming capabilities to Verizon if your phone supports the frequencies.
T-Mobile has also been very aggressive at building sites in New England, and in my opinion, has made huge strides in filling in dead spots and coverage holes. In my travels, I find T-Mobile sites everywhere I find the other carriers, and they (like Sprint PCS) will have many smaller sites to fill in network holes (such as flagpole and steeple mounted sites). Both Sprint and T-Mobile have been expanding there coverage in Central Mass, as well as on the Cape and other outlying regions.
Nextel is working hard to expand their coverage, especially since Sprint and Verizon have recently rolled out PTT service. Nextel has expanded their coverage to areas where business people can use their service, on and off duty. They have been aggressive on the Cape and Islands, in Maine and New Hampshire, as well as in the Western Part of Massachusetts.
Unfortunately, since they are the only user if the 'iden' network from Motorola, you cannot roam to any other carrier. You are basicly stuck on Nextel, without the ability to roam to anyone else. As they build the network out further, it will be less of an issue, but now it can be a limitation.
I will keep tabs on the effect of the AT&T / Cingular merger, and keep you up to date.
posted by pete at 8:53:00 PM
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